Monday, May 07, 2007

Since I'm not going to get around to seeing "Heroes" until sometime Wednesday at the earliest, and since I'm sure there will be a lot to talk about that you folks won't want to wait until then to bat back and forth, I'm opening up this thread for y'all, the same way I did a couple of months ago when I was unavoidably detained.

Fire away, and when I get back, I'll try to hit whatever points somehow haven't been made. As I recall from the last time I did this, you kind people did most of the work for me.

The scene where Hiro went to kill Sylar... holy crap. That whole sequence was unbelievably creepy to begin with, and then that! Even though I knew he wasn't going to do it because the season finale isn't for a few weeks, I was actually scared for Hiro. Not for what Sylar would do to him, but what killing someone would do to him.

And how DID Sylar break free of the time-freeze? And speaking of freezing, who did he get the ice powers from? Has he had them all along? And how did he learn to paint so well from one week to the next?

I think the biggest part of thsi episode was the reveal from Nathan and Ma Petrelli that not only did they KNOW about the explosion, but that Ma Petrelli was actually involved with "planning" it. Though I'm curious how they can know so much about it, aside from Isaac's comics / paintings.

I don't know if the point has been made elsewhere (probably has), but it occurred to me yesterday that Sylar is basically the dark opposite of Superman: a guy with a totally nerdy alterego that is arguably more human than his superpowered other self.

I also loved how the writers added some depth to Sylar's raison d'etre; in his own warped mind he has created a bizarre sort of logic for murdering other "special" people. Which made it all the more shocking to see him conflicted at the prospect of killing millions.

The theme this week seems to be people having issues with their parents. Ma Patrelli went all Manchurian Candidate on Nathan. Mama Sylar also put too much pressure on her son, which may lead to the deaths of a million people, starting with her. Micah is kidnapped by someone pretending to be his mom. Claire is having issues with both her dads.

I liked the big snow globe. That scene was visually really cool, beautiful but so dark and scary. You don't see things like that on TV often.

But was it reallyMa Petrelli? About a third of the way through the scene I got the feeling it was Candice... Although, if the cheeleader is the key to saving the world, and you want to blow-up New York, then now would be a good time to take the granddaughter to Paris.

But, that assumes that Future Hiro is correct in thinking that Claire is the key. After all, Future Hiro thought that Sylar set off the bomb when it was really Peter.

Even though this was mostly a setup for the next two episodes I felt like it was a great hour in its own right. Everything involving Sylar made my flesh crawl, and Ma Petrelli is starting to creep me out too (although it is definitely possible that Candice was there in her place). And poor Micah ... how creepy is it that Linderman sends him to New York when he knows the kid is going to die in the explosion? I'm guessing Linderman himself will be safely away from the bomb.

My favorite line was Claire's: "My destiny can't be to shoot you. The universe CANNOT be that lame."

Count me as a believer in the "that was Candice, not Ma Petrelli" camp.

And how DID Sylar break free of the time-freeze? And speaking of freezing, who did he get the ice powers from? Has he had them all along? And how did he learn to paint so well from one week to the next

As usual, I'm on the same page as Treacher, who I keep running into in other people's comment sections.

Anyway,

am I the only person who's getting a little bit tired of seeing Sylar have random powers we don't know about? That seems to be a bit of a cheat, I think. The constant assumption that he's killed this or that hero offscreen in order to have him one-up the other guys is bugging me.

Other than that, last night's episode was pretty good. An obvious "setting up the pieces" show, but still done in an entertaining way.

Candice and Micah were in NYC. In fact, I think they were in the same building that Peter, Claire, et. al. were in front of at the end. I remember a zoom out of the swanky loft they were in, and then a zoom down to Kirby(?) Plaza.

Best moment: Nathan's look/gesture when Claire found out he could fly.

jim treacher - thanks for your take on the Hiro/Sylar scene. You pegged exactly what was so tense about that scene, the idea that our innocent Hiro could kill, and could start his change into the Hiro of the future. I love that this show, even though it's a superhero fantasy, still has a foot in the real world enough to remember how hard it must be for someone to kill, even to kill a killer.

Yup, Micah and Candice are in NYC - in the building with the red stairs art in front of it, that everyone else was converging in front of at the end of the episode.

I'm not clear on why Mohinder was able to cure Molly? I get that his antibodies could cure his own sister, but why Molly? Is that Mohinder's power?

The girls name Molly Walker was mentioned last week as the "walker system" which they use to track heroes. Also interesting note that no one pointed out, this is the girl Parkman saved at the beginning of the season when he first realized his power.

Is anyone else wondering what possible implications Candace's abilities to make people 'see' what they want and not just shape-shift might mean? For example, the paintings made us believe that the real Nathan became president when it was really Sylar who had stolen Nathan's powers. So, does this also mean that Sylar can alter what people are seeing as well, since he had absorbed Candace's power at some point in the future?

Could Candace possibly alter what everyone is seeing at some point in the near-future which was captured by Isaac before he died?

I am getting so confused now that she can do this. What we are seeing in the paintings might not really happen at all.

Plus, now the sword is broken, so is the future now altered in some way because Hiro will not be able to kill Sylar with a sword like the painting predicted?

My mind is starting to go a little nuts with all of this.

Also, let's go back to the original idea....why didn't Peter do all he could to stay away from Ted, if he KNEW he might/would absorb his power and possbily be the one who blew up New York after all? Wouldn't you do everything you could to get away from that guy or stay at a reasonable distance, once you saw him approach?? That was the dumbest thing of all.

Otherwise, it was a good night. Oh, and I am still dying to know what Mama Petrelli's power is!!!

I was seriously disappointed to find out Ma Petrelli was evil (or just seriously misguided), so I like the idea that it was really Candace in that scene. I should have guessed when I saw Thompson talking to Nathan! I hope this doesn't mean that the real Ma Petrelli is dead, however.

I don't know if the point has been made elsewhere (probably has), but it occurred to me yesterday that Sylar is basically the dark opposite of Superman: a guy with a totally nerdy alterego that is arguably more human than his superpowered other self.

They drove home that point when he nerded up a la Clark Kent. A very *creepy* Clark Kent, of course. That whole thing with his mom was sad.

I liked the surprise at the end with Peter starting to go nuclear. This is the part of his dream where he thinks he's going to expode. But does Claire have to shoot him to stop him? Can't she just knock him out? Or shove another piece of glass in there and once he cools down, take it out? Like she said, the universe cannot be this lame! :-)

Interesting that Mohinder's blood could be a "cure" for ailing heroes. I'm still not sure why Primatech wants to find all the heroes, though, or why Linderman thinks blowing up NYC and then having the heroes rounded up and/or killed is a good idea. Unless they want to control all the heroes and experiment on them? To what nefarious end?

or why Linderman thinks blowing up NYC and then having the heroes rounded up and/or killed is a good idea.

Linderman wants to blow up NYC because it will get Nathan, his pawn, into the Oval Office. What ISN'T in Linderman's plans (I'm guessing) is for Syler to replace Nathan and commit Hero genocide (as happens in HiroFuture, or whatever we're calling it).

If Candace can make people see whatever she wants them to see, she may not be a shape-shifter at all -- her changes in appearance could simply be illusions. Think Sensor Girl rather than Chameleon Boy.

"For someone who was dying, Molly sure seemed to be in the pink of health."

Yeah. Molly creeped me right out. I was hoping Mohinder would see the consequences of curing her. I am not sure if he did. I thought she was almost too cute. Part of me wondered if she wasn't a cute child but something else pretending (like Candice or something) to be a cute child to manipulate Mohinder into curing her. Then they can round up all the heroes.

Remember that Linderman also has a power. He made that plant revive a la E.T. If that is the case, he could 'heal' NY somehow just with his own powers. I am thinking they are keeping track of the "Heroes" because Linderman doesn't want one of them to usurp what power and knowledge he has over the world. Seems the same is true for Mama Petrelli.

I think it is vital to know what power she has in order to understand her motives for all of this. I really think it comes down to her and Linderman and why.

Are we sure that Candice can control what people see? She's said stuff to the effect of "I can show you things that will really mess you up". She said it to Micah and words to that effect (affect?) to HRG. I took that to mean that she could show you loved ones doing things that you'd rather not see.

If Micha saw what he thought was his mother performing her old profession right in front of him, I think that could make for a serious mind-f***ing.

I don't think Ma Petrelli is Candice, because what she's saying is consistent with the stuff she was saying when Candice was still in Vegas. And because the writers have already way overused the "psyche!" thing.

Although the scene where Candice kept making Micah think he was escaping when he was going back to the same room was great, and I hope it'll shut up the "she's a shapeshifter, not an illusionist!" jerks. She's like a walking holodeck. (Or Danger Room, take your pick of nerd references.)

BTW, "Kirby Plaza" is a reference to the king of superhero comics, Jack Kirby. Oh, and the snowglobe thing is yet another Watchmen reference!

Ooh, I have a (completly unspoiled) prediction about Hiro's sword: I wouldn't be surprised if Hiro's own father either repairs or is the source of a new sword for his son. I remember reading somewhere that teh Kaito Nakamura character either deals in antiquities and/or is well-versed in bushido mythos.

It was Hiro's father that told Hiro the samurai story that led him to the sword in the first place, but I think the bigger issue is how the future is unraveling from the perdictions. Someone said that Future Hero was wrong about Sylar exploding and not Peter, but I think the issue is that Future Hiro only has the knowledge from before he went back in time to alter things the first time, which means Sylar might have exploded in the original time line. But all the timelines are changing around, which also leads me to suspect that Linderman's plans for the future will unravel. Also, I think I see a possible resolve for the series in Molly Walker's illness. The illness stops people from using their powers, and yes it kills them as well, but the virus might hold the key to curing dangerous heroes, after all certain viruses do change DNA.